A joint investigation by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Professor Yoshihisa Matsumura of Hannan University found that 677 China-related corporations registered their head offices in five older buildings and apartments in Osaka City during the three years following the COVID-19 pandemic. These companies were identified among 9,660 China-related corporations extracted from corporate registration records.
Each of the five buildings has 86 to 240 corporations registered, while the buildings themselves have only several dozen rooms and are more than 30 years old. Of the 677 corporations, 666 reported capital of 5 million yen. This figure matched the minimum capital previously required to obtain the Business Manager residence status for foreign business owners before the government implemented stricter requirements on October 16. A total of 641 companies listed the operation of Special Zone private lodging (“tokku-minpaku”) as their business purpose. Within three years, 583 representatives who had been residing in China shifted their registered domicile to Japan.
Due to economic conditions in China, more individuals have chosen Japan as a relocation destination. The number of Chinese nationals residing in Japan under the Business Manager visa reached a record high last year. In response to concerns that companies were being created primarily for relocation, the Japanese government raised the capital requirement from 5 million yen to 30 million yen or more, mandated the hiring of at least one full-time employee, and added requirements related to business experience, educational background, and Japanese language proficiency.
Professor Matsumura stated that many of the companies are suspected to be shell companies and may be serving as footholds for immigration, with the involvement of brokers suggested in what is described as an “immigration business.”